


You Lift Me Gently to the Skies

by YumeNoTsuzuki (Yumejin)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, mostly canon compliant, sensei cannot unsee, slightly AU, the one in which people actually get over their childhood crushes cos ninja life is too short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-05
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-20 01:48:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2410523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yumejin/pseuds/YumeNoTsuzuki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At 16, his most energetic student is still claiming not to have any interest in the Icha Icha Tactics books, so naturally Kakashi is a little skeptical, a little worried and very, very curious.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Lift Me Gently to the Skies

Logically, it had been merely the next step in their relationship as teammates. Sex was an important part of a shinobi’s life from the moment they became old enough to understand how to seduce a target to gain information and that as ninja, their life expectancy was reasonably short. When away on a week, month, even yearlong mission, it would be difficult to function with the infallible focus required a 100% of the time without some form of stress relief – as such, they all quickly learned to respect each other’s privacy in these matters – as well as that sometimes, they would need to provide comfort in all forms to their comrades in difficult times. So it seemed sensible to extend the same courtesy when he first noticed his team mate’s agitation, difficulty with concentrating even more than usual as well as the negative attitude and the tired lines under his eyes. The surprise he felt when Naruto actually agreed was something entirely unexpected however, stirring in him something new and unpredictable. It was too easy, to fall into a pattern, sharing a room together during each mission and falling into bed together at the end of the day.

It takes a long time for the pattern to change. It’s not until their captain notices that at 16, his most energetic student is still claiming not to have any interest in the Icha Icha Tactics books, so naturally Kakashi is a little skeptical, a little worried and very, very curious. It takes the captain a while to observe and wait before taking any drastic measures but eventually even his patience wears thin and he pulls Sai aside while Naruto has gone to buy some ramen and not quite so subtly asks if the blond has expressed interest in anyone or at least showed signs of getting over Sakura.

He stops to think about it for a moment before giving an answer that he’s certain caused a blush to sprout beneath the mask over his captain’s face. When Naruto returns, he gives them both a suspicious sort of look, because something in the atmosphere had changed. Sai, meanwhile, processes his own answer to Kakashi’s question. Is Naruto interested in him romantically? He had not implied so in his answer, but he wasn’t sure if he had answered correctly. It was difficult to distinguish when people spoke of romantic or sexual attraction – for him it had only ever been physical, without any emotional attachment and because of it he separated the two clearly, while others such as Sakura and Ino, from what he’d heard, seemed to think the two terms were nearly interchangeable.

For probably the first time, he feels uncomfortable under Naruto’s scrutinizing gaze and excuses himself to retire to their inn room early.

❖

“Did I say something weird?” Naruto asks Kakashi doubtfully.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” his sensei shrugs with that dismissive tone of voice he always uses when making up an excuse before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

“What’s up with them today, dattebayo?” Naruto grumbles to himself before going for a well needed, long soak in the hot spring. He returns to his and Sai’s room nearly a whole hour later, feeling slightly dizzy and sleepy from staying in the water too long.

“Sai..?”

The lights are off and the other boy seems to be purposefully pretending to be asleep, wrapped up tightly in the cover, next to the wall. Quietly as he can, he steps into the room and rolls out comfortably on the futon, listening to the nightly rustle of the inn.

“Sai..?” he asks again, rolling over to his stomach and facing the general direction of his friend. No reply. Crawling closer, he extends his hand to reach for Sai’s shoulder, but it moves away just in time.

“Naruto-kun,” Sai addresses him stiffly, the way he used to when he first approached Team 7 as a spy. “We should stop doing this,” he says, still facing the wall with Naruto’s gaze lingering somewhere on the back of his head with confusion.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Naruto’s voice shows exactly how surprised he is by this. He wants to see Sai’s face, see his expression as he says this, but the other boy remains perfectly still on the futon, hiding in the darkness.

“I can’t pretend to be Sakura or Sasuke for you, Naruto.” Sai’s voice doesn’t waver, unlike Naruto’s composure at hearing the words.

“What?!” he chokes out, sitting up at once. “Sasuke and I were _not_ like that and it’d be impossible for you to pretend to be Sakura-chan, dattebayo. And… is that really what you thought this was, Sai?” he finally moves closer, placing a hand on Sai’s shoulder to force him to turn around.

“As you know, Naruto-kun, I have no experience with relationships. I thought this was purely sexual at first, but talking to Kakashi-san made me realise you most likely want to pursue a romantic relationship with someone else. Also, it seems that involuntarily, my… feelings... for you have changed over time.”

“So that’s why sensei was acting so weird earlier,” Naruto’s laugh disrupts the quiet atmosphere of the moonlit room and he feels a blush colouring his own face in the darkness. Sai thinks it’s amusing that he can still blush at the mention of the word “sexually” despite having done things that Jiraya-san could not describe in his books.

“I’m not like you, Sai. I can’t suppress my feelings or ignore them. When you first told me your idea, I didn’t know what to do. But when I was with you, I was really happy. The more time we spent together, the more I realised how much you treasured our friendship and that you understood, more than anyone else, why I had to try to bring Sasuke back. So… I’m not really good at this stuff, but I think what I’m trying to say is that for me, it was never really just… sex. Dattebayo.”

“Then what about Sakura-san? I was assured many times by your friends that you are in love with her,” Sai asks quietly after a minute of embarrassed, tense silence.

“Guess I’m finally over it. I’d still do anything to protect her, but... it’s just not the same anymore. We’ve all changed so much. When I went away with Ero-sennin for three years and came back to see Sakura smashing the ground into rocks with her bare fists, I didn’t see the same girl I had a crush on. I guess, when she tried to manipulate my feelings for her so she could go after Sasuke herself, it was the final straw,” Naruto shook his head a little. “To be honest, I don’t think I’ve been in love with her for a long time now, it just took a while to really hit home. I’m an idiot so that’s not really surprising though,” he laughs and now Sai is smiling too.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Naruto. You’re a huge idiot,” he says with a real, heartfelt smile that Naruto wants to commit to memory for the rest of his life.

❖

From where Sai is now, he can’t quite see how he had missed these clues before. The way Naruto’s eyes are focused on him, looking up so hopefully, so intensely that something in his stomach stirs and clenches wildly, making his heart beat far too fast. The way his fingers scrape just lightly over his exposed stomach attentively, tanned hands contrasting the pale expanse of skin. The way he carefully worships his body and searches for ways to give him even more pleasure when he doesn’t have to. But what he now knows he failed to notice most are his own reactions – the subtle way he can relax all his muscles, entrusting Naruto to manoeuvre them into position, as he had never let anyone before. The way his own hands seek out Naruto’s to join them together and the way he completely lets his guard down, immersed in the discovery of sensations of lips on skin, on the neck, on the chest and further below..

Now he can see passion and care behind every connection between them, understands that he was never an imitation or a replacement and knows that it’s normal to feel the need to seek out comfort and to feel as though he’s being pulled closer and closer together with another person.

“Does this mean I can decide on a pet name for you now, Naruto?” he asks jokingly, accurately anticipating the frustrated groan Naruto makes in response.

“I thought you’d learned your lesson about that last time you called Sakura _Ugly_ ,” the blond laughs, recalling the enormous bruise over half of Sai’s face that day. “Don’t need to complicate things, dattebayo.”

“Well... she can’t barge in here to punch me right now so I thought I might try anyway,” he laughs a little in response. He still can’t understand all the social cues between Naruto and all their friends, but this, between the two of them, he thinks he couldn’t understand any better.

❖

“Naruto! What did you two say to Kakashi-sensei last night, he’s been acting _really_ strange all morning,” Sakura accuses them over breakfast. Sai has been smiling since he appeared in the dining hall, which is a novel yet slightly disturbing sight, so she is immediately suspicious.

“I told him Naruto loves taking it up the-,” Sai’s monotone response is cut off abruptly when Naruto slams a hand over his mouth, wide-eyed and red all over the face.

“What?” Sakura’s eyebrows shoot up just as they notice Kakashi-sensei standing in the doorway, looking unbalanced and maybe a little haunted.

“ _My cute little students… worse than…Tactics_ …” he mumbles, stumbling back out into the hallway. “ _Wish…. unsee..”_

“’S nothing, Sakura-chan~!” Naruto assures her at once, though somehow, she isn’t _at all_ convinced.

**Author's Note:**

> I have an obsession with Sai's pale and skinny stomach and I can not lie


End file.
